Is a Slow Burning Love More Likely to Last?

I never thought I craved this type of love until it found me

Photo by Scott Broome on Unsplash

Is falling in love, slowly, almost by surprise, the best way to fall in love? My romances thus far have ranged from okay to the kind of earth-shattering love that you read about in romance novels. If I were to have a résumé of romances, it might list: a boyfriend, a friend with benefits, a summer fling, and a long-distance relationship, to name but a few.

I have now started a new chapter in my quest for romance and love. One which has built up slowly. One that, much to my surprise, continues to thrill me and fill me with excitement for what the future might hold.

At the beginning of the relationship, the person in question is someone who I enjoyed spending time with, but honestly never thought I would love in a serious sense. The slow nature of this relationship came to be, largely due to the world stopping in March 2020. The pandemic meant that we were forced to get to know each other at a slower pace. A lot of the normal pressures were not there, physical intimacy was out of the question, and neither of us were distracted by other social commitments.

I was slow to realise how attached to this person I had become; this romance was not one full of fire and lust. It was instead, one where I…